By ROBERT JUMPER
One Feather Editor
A very good and productive discussion was held at the November Planning Board meeting. There hadn’t been a meeting since August and the relatively new representatives along with the Principal Chief were identifying the purpose and function of the Planning Board in addition to discussing outstanding land use issues currently in question.
Roll call of the Board included Tribal Council Chairman Michael Parker, Cherokee Co. – Snowbird Rep. Adam Wachacha, Birdtown Rep. Boyd Owle, Big Cove Rep. Richard French, Painttown Rep. Michael Stamper, Yellowhill Rep. Tom Wahnetah, EBCI Secretary of Commerce Sean Ross, Secretary of Finance Susie Wolfe, Principal Chief Michell Hicks, Vice Chief Alan B. Ensley, Daniel Tramper, and Annie Owens. At this meeting, Vice Chief Ensley was elected chairman of the Planning Board and Rep. Wachacha became the vice chairman of the board.
Ideas like a Tourism Development Authority (TDA) and Cherokee Chamber of Commerce resurfaced during the discussion of attempting to get the business community engaged and vocal in the planning processes of the Tribe. Not new ideas but good ones that, when done properly and with proper support, will benefit the Tribe greatly. Attempts at sustaining a chamber of commerce for the tribal community failed because it was not supported politically nor financially. Indeed, the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce still exists, but is minimally functional, maintaining few member benefits beyond a website and an annual visitor guide.
Whether the tribe chooses to call the business representative organization a TDA or a Chamber, it will need to be included in the financial structure of the Tribe. In most municipalities, the business organization receives funding from an occupancy tax (our government chooses to call it a “privilege tax”). The TDA’s function is tourism development and the Chamber’s function is that of business support and coalition. Rep. Wahnetah suggested modeling a TDA structure for the tribe from Jackson or Swain County. I wish someone had thought of that before. Some funds may be raised from events and membership dues, but the sustenance of a TDA and/or Chamber is the occupancy tax. Occupancy taxes are derived from visitor overnight stays (hotel rooms, cabins, AirBnB, VRBO, campgrounds-basically any short-term rental). While funding a Chamber or TDA is not burdensome on community funds because the money comes from taxes on visitors, it may have a negative impact on businesses who provide those short-term rentals. So, when considering the development of a business representative organization, careful thought must be given to structure and financial support.
One of the benefits for government of having either of these bodies is having a hierarchy of business leadership in the community and a point of contact to get input on economic development.
Principal Chief Hicks stated, “I think the business representative (on the Planning Board) is extremely important, but it goes beyond this. This business community lacks a voice and I think we’ve got to recreate that. I don’t think one person does that.”
He feels that the business community should bring ideas and hopefully partnerships to the table at the Planning Board. He thinks the Planning Board should be a “sounding board” for the tribal community and tribal business community. He specifically mentioned the Fairgrounds, old high school site, and Soco Falls as areas were community and business input would be valuable. The next scheduled Planning Board meeting is set for Dec. 18 and they plan to seat a business and tribal elder at that session. They also mentioned having a working session of the Planning Board prior to the scheduled meeting.
The EBCI Project Management and Planning program gave a presentation to the Planning Board, basically providing an overview of existing projects. They led with completed projects in FY2023 which included the Cherokee Youth Center, Jacob Cornsilk building, Big Cove gym, Trout Hatchery expansion, Wolftown Airnasium, Fire Mountain Disk Golf, EOC (Emergency Operations Center) parking lot expansion, downtown pedestrian bridge and sewer line, the downtown sewer force main, Tribal Foods building, Big Cove recreation area parking. They also presented a list of 18 “projects in progress”. Chief Hicks pointed out that the list included partially funded projects and that part of the planning process will be identifying funding sources and determining if there is still a desire to move ahead with those projects where funding has not already been established. He said one project that he has not seen on a list, but he has experienced tremendous community feedback on, is a community bingo hall.
Chief Hicks stated that he doesn’t want to create a false perception in the community that all projects listed are fully funded because that is not the case at this time.
Becky Rowe, the program’s manager, responded that “not all of these are funded. Some of them haven’t even started.” No detail was given on the status of each project.
Chairman Parker and Chief Hicks both alluded to better internal communications being very important to overall economic development and community project planning and funding. Chief Hicks kept coming back to the need for community input and survey.
Secretary Ross brought up the age-old question that we continue to stumble over as a tribe. When the subject of Fairgrounds use came up, several suggestions started to emerge, maybe reemerge. Ross stated that we must distinguish and identify what the purpose of the projects is to properly plan and execute them. “When we break these projects down, we need to make a determination-Are they revenue- generating, tourism-driven projects, or are they community-centric projects; or is there a fusion of both. And when we make those decisions and finalize what that looks like, then we operate accordingly.” He said that infrastructure and funding need to be planned to accommodate the ideas that are being put forward.
There is a symbiosis that exists between community and economic development. To have community projects and amenities, you must have sustainable revenue generation to not only build, but to maintain community amenities. And the purpose of governmental economic development is to fund those community amenities to provide a better quality of life for the membership. You must have both from a sustainability standpoint. Economic development comes at a cost. But it is an integral part of the livelihood of a community. The more buildings and programs we desire as a tribal community for the betterment of our way of life, the more economic development that will be required to sustain it. Ross rightly focused on the necessity of any planning to be specific in purpose.
Chief Hicks said that he, along with Vice Chief Ensley, are very focused on educating our people to reduce dependency on outside contractors. He said of the approximately $220 million budget of the tribal government, roughly $53 million is “sitting in outside contracts”.
Chief Hicks stated that he was committed to developing our workforce. “If we are contracting this much out, how are we developing internally our workforce and our tribal membership?”
Chief Hicks throughout the meeting stated that, while he makes his own judgements, he is continually listening to the community for their thoughts on direction.
Listening seemed to be a theme throughout the Planning Board session. And much of the listening that leadership said they want to do is to listen to you, to us, the community. They are going to be looking for us to provide input on these projects and to bring them ideas for what we think would benefit the community. So, take them up on it. The worst possible thing we can do is to stand silent while decisions about our future are being made. Speak loudly. Both Tribal Council and the Executive Office have come out of the gate stating they are listening to the community. Don’t let them hear crickets. Don’t let them listen to a few. You have a voice. Use it. You know the channels of communication. Use them.
The full video of the Planning Board session is available on Cherokee One Feather and EBCI Communications Department Facebook pages.
